The Patriots.com News Blitz gets you up-to-date on the latest Patriots news from local and national media.

Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston believes one of the areas of intrigue during training camp is whether or not rookie WR Jeremy Gallon will perform well enough to sneak onto the Patriots 53-man roster.

"The Patriots obviously liked his college production and they probably see some similarities between him and the 2009 version of Edelman (another seventh-round pick) in the sense that Gallon is a good football player who doesn't fit into the traditional box," writes Reiss. "A spot on the practice squad seems more likely at this time, but a strong showing in training camp could change the thinking." READ MORE>>

Doug Kyed of NESN.com writes that Tom Brady came in tied for No. 1 on ESPN's ranking of NFL quarterbacks.

"ESPN’s Mike Sando asked 26 anonymous NFL insiders (eight general managers, two former GMs, four pro personnel evaluators, seven coordinators, two head coaches, two position coaches and a top executive) to put each starting quarterback in a tier from one to five," notes Kyed. "Brady received 25 Tier 1 scores and one Tier 2 ranking — that pro personnel evaluator placed Manning as his lone Tier 1 QB." READ MORE>>

Chris Wesseling of NFL.com ranks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees in a tier below Aaron Rodgers when looking at the league's top quarterbacks.

"Once Rob Gronkowski re-entered the lineup at mid-season, the Patriots boasted the NFL's best offense for a five-game stretch before the All-Pro tight end went down with an ACL tear," adds Wesseling. "Via Game Rewind, I recently watched every throw of Brady's 2013 season. No one can convince me he wouldn't have matched Manning's production if he had the Broncos' weapons. Peyton acknowledged as much in December." READ MORE>>

In regards to TB12, Kirwan writes, "He does more with less. He could take any team in the AFC and win the division." READ MORE>>

Field Yates of ESPN Boston argues that Tom Brady's contract is the biggest bargain on the Patriots roster.

"Brady signed a contract extension during the 2013 offseason that keeps him in New England through the 2017 season," writes Yates. "The deal totaled five years and $57 million. There's an inherent risk to signing a player who will be 40 entering the final season of said deal, but if Brady continues to play at his current performance level, an average of $11.4 million for an elite quarterback is an exceptional bargain." READ MORE>>